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No idea why you'd need to develop an API. IQFeed plugs right into NinjaTrader. I've had a positive experience with IQFeed as data-feed into Ninja, while trading through IB/TWS. That's actually in a past life, since I'm now using ZenFire/Rithmic exclusively. But it's a good combination.

Take a look at Advantage Futures, too. I opened an account with them, but haven't traded with them. I've heard good things, and their commissions are as good as it gets.

I know there are folks who have had positive experiences with RCG. I'm unfortunately on the extreme, extreme other end of the spectrum. I've talked in the past about the horrible experiences I've had with RCG risk management, and RCG application-support/ehelp. Now I have a new reason to be...

Hey there, I thought you'd be the first man to reply. :) Thanks as always! Yea, I looked quickly at the numbers... looks like I save around $1-$1.25 round-trip by doing membership. Volumes don't really justify it yet. I'll have to look again if/when I scale up another order of magnitude.

Hi guys, Any insight on when exchange membership becomes worthwhile for lease...? I'm not concerned about the increased margin, thinking more about lower clearing fees. I'm trading about 700 RTs a month right now. I'd say probably 400 in the softs, 300 in the CME/CBOT ags. That's all in...

Anyone with any insight on the rates these larger administrators cost? I've been put in touch with a few local sole-practictioner types on the admin side. These are people affiliated with leading audit firms, so it's not a bad startup choice. But I'm wondering how much it would cost to go...

Very useful thoughts, thanks. By SMA, are you referring to separately managed account? I'm strongly inclined to NOT offer that as an option.... I want to keep my specific trading activity closer to the vest. Hopefully by having a credible audit + admin firm, that wouldn't be an issue.

Hi there, I'm still learning about the CPO/CTA business, so here's a newbie question. How important is that margin/equity ratio? I've been told 20% is more or less standard, and 40-50% is perceived as "aggressive". Just as background, let's make clear I'm talking about medium-sized...

Hi there, I don't really fully grasp all of the rules behind margin in the commodity world. (Or let's be honest, in the equity world.) What can I do with the cash from short commodity options... ? I have a very large cash balance (offset by net short option value). Obviously some of...

I just transferred my account out of Mirus/RCG. I also looked at Dorman. I don't have a problem recommending Mirus for most people, as long as you're not looking to do anything "complicated". Ie, if you're scalping a few ES/YM contracts... go for it. Mirus is a much better than average...

already implemented for 20 years. Search for CME and SPAN.

Any chance final settlement values aren't plugged in until statements are generated, truly end of day? I clear through RCG. I don't get a "real" settlement statement until around 9 PM PST (midnight EST). Anything before then often has slight deviations from settlement values. Although...

I would save about $100k in margin requirements this month, if I swapped all of my synthetic put for actual put positions. But that's not by design. That's only because my soon to be former FCM (RCG) has an incompetent, uninformed risk department.

Much thanks, appreciate the insight. Good to hear there's nothing bad behind the covers. Fees/platform, those are all right up front, so I'll make sure they're what I'm looking for. On platform side, they now have a new/growing relationship with Ninja + Rithmic... might be exactly what...

You went from pretty helpful in the first message to not so helpful in the second. Anyways, spoke to Howard @ Vision this morning. Looks like I will not have to go retail through one of their IBs. I'm still interested in your input on what might be "bad" at Vision.

Thanks for the note. Very helpful. I hadn't heard of the ECM program before... I had been considering membership, but since my trading is evenly spread out between NYBOT/NYMEX/CME/CBOT, wasn't sure if that would make sense. My current FCM is RCG... and while most of their services have been...

Hi, If I end up going CPO/CTA... should I care at all about the FCM that I clear with? How important is that? I'm just considering a few options here. Some are the giants FCMs (ADM, RCG, Man)... some are in the middle but have a reputation of promoting their CTAs (Vision)... some are...

Somewhere in between? Will be starting as a 7-digit retail account, but need some special treatment (direct pit access), and looking to migrate to CPO within 6-12 months. I'm not too demanding, but I just want to know they're reasonable when problems inevitably come up (with risk/margin...

Hi there, Any experiences out there with Vision Financial as a FCM? Good or bad?

That actually brings up a different question I have. I know futures are taxed at 60/40 (long-term versus short-term) capital gains. What about options on futures? Nevermind: answer is... yes, options on futures are also 60/40.